Happy Halloween Wishes

Hello friends! We've snuck right up on Halloween and I've just finished the last of my projects! I've been having such a fun time working on all kinds of Halloween projects and since the day is fast approaching, I will just be sharing them all on this one post! I pulled out my Halloween favorites but paired them with some everyday favorites for a unique look this year!

My first stop was the fabric store where I picked up these spooky fabrics which were the starting point for some of the others and then I just got a little carried away! LOL! I'll take you through my design process as well as any tips or tricks I learned along the way! I ended up making 3 of these Flutterby Baskets in total, but I'm only showing 2 of the 3 in this photo. I fell in love with the fabric I used for the bottom portion of each of the baskets and it reminded me of the classic  Just the Ticket stamp set from Papertrey Ink that has been retired. 

I decided to use that stamp set as well as the Just the Ticket Border Die to give these tags that same feel! I had such a joyful creative time making these fun tags! I LOVE vintage Halloween so these are just my cup of tea!

The three baskets were made for my boys' school teachers so I made three tags as well. To begin, I used the Tag Sale: Quilted die to die cut a black tag and then another one using the Halloween Prints Pattern Paper. I adhered them together using a tape runner and then got to work on the other elements used on the tags.

I made the large medallions using the same pattern paper and then added chunky silver glitter to the outside edge using liquid glue. The "31" numbers were die cut using the By the Numbers die collection. I die cut them twice out of black cardstock and then glued them together for stability. Then I added some Nuvo Crystal Glaze and some crystal glitter over the top.

The "halloween wishes" sentiment is from the retired "Spooky Sweets II" stamp set, which I use EVERY year! It's one of my favorites! I also added the cute little carnival Jack-o-lantern which is a sticker from Martha Stewart Crafts that I've been hoarding for a few years now. My sweet sister has given me quite a bit from that fun carnival collection and I just love it so much. Those little stickers inspired my next project! 

As I was lamenting the fact that I REALLY need a stamp company to make a stamp set so I can recreate those cute stickers, I was reminded of the hat card I shared on THIS post. My creative wheels starting turning and I decided to make a large, card version of that little Jack-o-Lantern. I used the Shape Up Series: Pumpkin and the Shape Up Series Pumpkin Sections for the pumpkin part. I die cut the pumpkin pieces using Canyon Clay cardstock and then added some Terracotta Tile ink around the edges of each piece. The pieces for the face are die cut once from Summer Sunrise and once from black to create the same looking face as the stickers. I glued the yellow portion directly to the pumpkin and then added the black pieces using foam squares. The crystal glaze and glitter are added over the top, just like I did for the "31" numbers on the tags.

The hat portion is die cut using the Party Hat Die as well as the Party Hat Trims die. I had to cut it MUCH smaller than the die cut to make it fit. It was a little bit tricky to put together with the smaller size and the poor pumpkins head has a bit of wear and tear under there! LOL!

I made another medallion for the top and in hindsight, it needed to be MUCH smaller, but oh well! I was having so much fun figuring everything out, but if I try this again, I will definitely do it smaller. I added some tickets, the heat embossed "trick or treat" sentiment, which is also from the Spooky Sweets II set. The star sticker at the top is also one of the carnival stickers from Martha Stewart Crafts. I couldn't locate my black crepe paper so I called the local party store to see if they had some. They assured me they did but when I actually got there, they directed me to the "butcher paper". My inner "Karen" was coming out in full force! LOL! I was super bugged and ended up just getting some burgundy crepe paper streamers (because they were out of black, of course!)  I used a running stitch on my sewing machine and gathered it up and then added a bit of black ink around the edges to give it a fun, vintage vibe! It is secured to the bottom of the pumpkin using ScorTape. I added the pumpkin to a top folding black card base using foam squares.

My final projects for today, and for the season, is a trio of spooky houses filled with candy and a tea light! These also went to my boys' teachers along with the fabric baskets filled with a caramel apple from a local chocolatier, a bag of candy and a hand lotion and lip gloss.  I wanted to create an actual scene that would be easy for the kids to transport. You should have seen me in the drop-off line giving them instructions on how to hold everything! LOL!

To begin, I die cut enough pieces to create the three houses using the Tiny Town: Basic Die. I also die cut enough pieces for each house using the Tiny Town: Spookville die. I used liquid glue and got everything put together. I set them aside to dry fully and made the trees and fence using the Tiny Town: Spooky Yard die. 

I glued everything to the green piece that was die cut using the Shape Shifters Oval 1 die. I've used the Shape Shifters before to create a scene, which I just love. The fence went on first and then I added the tree and the house, only gluing the front portion of the house. I decided to try adding black chunky glitter here and there on one house, but I didn't on any of the others. I used the witch from Spooky Sweets II and added the end of her broom to the edge of the chimney. I love how it looks like she is flying over the house! 

Well...this wraps up Halloween 2020! I hope you have a fun and safe holiday! Thanks for fluttering by!

 

Home is where the heart is!

Happy Saturday, friends! I'm just popping in with a fun little "welcome to the neighborhood" ensemble I've been working on this week!  A new family moved in a few weeks ago and I have been meaning to put something "COVID-19" appropriate together to drop off at their house! As much as I wanted to do some baking, I opted for a handmade card, a little house filled with Werther's soft caramels, two packages of microwaveable popcorn, and 5 Redbox codes, and a hand sewn key wristlet for their new house key!

I pulled out all of the "old school" stops for this ensemble; felt, ribbon, buttons, dies, stamp set, etc. LOL! It really feels like a blast from the past, but there are some stamps and supplies that I will never part with, because I need them for times like this! How about you? Do you keep old stamp sets, and older supplies? You all know I'm a crafty hoarder so the answer is yes for me! I have gotten rid of a lot of older SU! sets, but don't ask me how many I STILL have! LOL! 

Of course I had to make a little house to include in the welcome basket! These houses are so cute and are always well received! To begin, I die cut the Tiny Town Basic Die out of Happy Spots pattern paper and all of the shutters and window frames from white cardstock. I also die cut the Tiny Town: Scallop Shingles and little handle for the top out of white as well. Once that was done, I got to work assembling the house. 

The finishing touch is a tag tied up with ribbon and twine. I even went super old school with an eyelet! ha ha! The tag is die cut using the Charming Tags 1 die, which is back in stock, out of white cardstock and then I stamped the stems and flowers from the Love Lives Here stamp set, which has been retired. The house is die cut and then stamped using my mini MISTI and popped up with foam squares. I'm loving the Banner Builder Basics die lately and use it ALL the time! They are the perfect addition to each of today's projects!

The banner is die cut from Sweet Blush cardstock and then I bent the sentiment to fit the arc of the banner! One of my favorite things to do with these houses is to add a small battery operated tea light, but I decided since it was going to an entire family, they'd probably rather have it full of caramels! ha ha!

The card uses the same tag as the house, but with a few additions, including the new Nifty Plaid background stamp. I love it so much and have used it quite bit during the release! 

The tag with the house and flowers is the medium size tag, so I die cut the largest one out of the same Happy Spots paper as the house. I layered them together using foam squares for dimension. I also included a larger banner with a different sentiment. The Nifty Plaid background is stamped onto a panel of white cardstock that has been die cut using the Love to Layer Notched die. I added the entire panel to a top folding Berry Sorbet card base.

I wasn't planning on putting this card in an envelope so I didn't worry too much about how long the tails were on the banner. If you are mailing your card, you might want to keep the banner a little bit smaller so that it can fit in an envelope better.

I bought 5 Redbox codes for BluRays and printed them out onto cardstock and then die cut it using the smallest of the notched die and tucked it inside of this custom made Essential Pillow Box Die. It is die cut from the Happy Spots pattern paper and then tied up with ribbon.

 I added a banner as you can see, to keep the entire project cohesive. I die cut some felt flowers and glued them together using Tombow Mono Multi glue. The oval is die cut using the Limitless Layers: 2 1/4 inch oval die and then stamped with the Nifty Plaid background stamp. I gussied it up with the butterfly, banner, and felt flower.

You can see everything in the basket ready to go! I wrapped up the popcorn in the same pattern paper for aesthetics and presentation. This will be easy to just pop on the porch. I wrote a nice greeting inside the card and we can't wait to actually meet them properly! Thanks for fluttering by!

Every Good and Perfect Gift is From Above...and you're one of them!

Welcome to this week's Papertrey Ink Saturday Showcase! Thank you so much for all of the love on yesterday's post! I can't wait to reply to all of your sweet comments; you are the best! Today a few of us are sharing some projects using the beautiful Seasonal Borders: Spring stamp set. You can see the other designer's projects HERE and I know you won't be disappointed! Ashley is sharing another one of her fabulous videos as well!

Confession: I used to feel very intimidated by the Seasonal Borders series!  There, I said it! LOL! That being said, I took the time during the holidays last year to watch one of Betsy's videos showing how to use the Seasonal Borders: Winter stamp set and made the process feel doable! I decided to try it out and I was HOOKED!  I ended up making THESE and then couldn't stop and made THESE! Once I knew how easy they are to stamp, and how beautiful the end result is, I wanted to make borders for EVERYTHING! I was thrilled to use the Spring border for today's project! And...once again, I want to make borders for everything! 

I knew straight out of the gate that it would be wise for me to just stamp multiples because they are just so fun...AND, when using a MISTI, it really just makes sense to make a whole bunch! I just seemed to keep going with yesterday's mass production mind set! I ended up making 4 cards; 2 with softer tones, and 2 with the brighter colors. The lighter borders uses ink color in: Spring Moss, Sweet Blush, Pale Peony, Harvest Gold, Bright Buttercup, Lilac Grace, and Winter Wisteria. The brighter borders use Simply Chartreuse, Sweet Blush, Pale Peony, Harvest Gold, Lilac Grace, Winter Wisteria, Raspberry Fizz, and Scarlet Jewel.

Once I had the borders die cut and stamped, I just sat and drooled over them. I love when you start adding in all of the details and the designs spring to life! Anyway, as much as I would have liked to have just stared at them, I needed to do something more! LOL! The thing I love about these borders is that they are so versatile and the possibilities are endless. I considered adding them as an embellishment to the Coverplate Basket Die, which I will still probably do, but since I just used that die, I wanted to keep things fresh. I decided that the sweet little Tiny Town Church needed some landscaping. What do you think? Does it work? I can only imagine stumbling across this sweet little country church all dressed up for spring! The sentiment is from the Phrases and Praises stamp set and works so well with the church! 

I also used the rest of the sentiment, which is optional, on the inside. I am using these as thank you cards {yes, I still need more} and this is an unexpected, but sweet sentiment to use. We had an outpouring of love from the people from our church, so I thought these particular cards would work well as thank you cards for them.

I did some blending on the top of a white 4 by 5 1/4 inch piece of cardstock using Aqua Mist ink. I also used the Nesting Basics Pierced Rectangles to give it some extra detail. I created a "hill" using the Round Off Edgers Dies which was a nice backdrop for the church and flowers. I die cut two churches, one with the windows and one without. I did some ink blending on the one without windows using Harvest Gold ink to give the church a welcoming glow. I used liquid glue to adhere them together. The flowers are added to the front using foam squares as well as the church. I added some sparkling clear rhinestones to the flowers for some shine. I think some Sweet Shoppes, some school houses, and some houses need some fresh landscaping as well! I can't wait to try it! Thanks for fluttering by!

Papertrey Ink September Release Day 1

Welcome, my friends, to Day 1 of the Papertrey Ink September Release! There is so much to love this month that I know you will all be smitten! Today, I am featuring the new "Sentiment Staples: Christmas" and a darling new set called "Merry Mug"! I have used it in a few different ways today, but first off, I'm sharing this sweet "thinking of you" card! My other projects are all Christmas-y, so this way I can just ease you into the idea that Christmas is on its way! LOL! Also, don't forget to stop by the Papertrey Ink Blog to see how the other designers have used today's featured products!

When I decide which particular sets I want to buy, I usually try to think of all the ways that I will use it. This "Sending you a hug in a mug" sentiment, in addition to the other sentiments,  makes this set a "sure-sale" for me! Is that even a word? LOL! I'm a sucker for mugs and cups, especially for holiday crafting, but knowing this could be used for tea inspired gifts/cards as well as "all things winter" makes my mind go crazy with possibilities! 

For this card, I used the new "Pierced Feature Frames: Oval to frame this stack of pastel colored mugs. It is die cut using Weathervane cardstock and popped up onto the Pale Peony Bitty Big pattern paper panel. I used the small polka dots to balance out the large print on the cups. The trio of cups are stamped in Aqua Mist, Lemon Tart, and Pale Peony. I used some left over flowers from my Traveler's Journal project in the corner of the bottom mug.

I love all of the little "extras" that this set comes with; the tag, the heart, the "steam" image. All of these little details really make a project seem more special. The steam is heat embossed using silver powder. 

I continued the embossing with the sentiment. I stamped the "sending" portion directly onto the mug using Versamark ink and then heat embossed it. The "you a hug a in a mug" portion is embossed onto a white sentiment strip and attached to the card using some foam squares. I thought some sparkling clear sequins would look so cute sprinkled around the steam. I had so much fun making this card! 

My second project also uses the "Merry Mug" set, as you can see! Last year, I made up some packages of "mug cake" mixes and added them to  Christmas mugs to gift to the secretaries at my sons' school. This year I thought it would be fun to do the same thing, but THIS time, I made some fabric sacks to put them in. I know that cookie mixes are popular to buy in the fabric sacks around Christmas time, but I thought that a miniature version would be super fun! 

 You could also use powdered hot chocolate mix as well, if you wanted! I'm sure I'll be trying that as well at some point before the holidays hit! Also, the sweet little heart that is included got my Valentine's Day brain working as well...don't be surprised it I pop out with some mug-tastic Valentine goodness! Ha Ha!

The recipe that I used for the "Mug Cake" can be found HERE. I used Devil's food cake as my "other" cake that you can pick. I also included some mini chocolate chips inside the fabric sacks as well. I used the snack sized ziploc style bags. I was able to get about 2/3 of a cup of mix into the bags as well as a good sprinkling of the mini chocolate chips.  The fabric bags are cut 4 inches by 6 inches and then sewn on 3 sides. This is the perfect size to hold everything, but it does require some "shoving"! LOL! The topper is die cut using the new "Shape Shifters: Oval 3" and is the perfect fit for the fabric bags.

The sentiment is stamped in Chocolate Chip ink. I realize that it is a little hard to see in the photos, but in real life it goes very nicely with the Kraft cardstock and the homespun feel. I thought that black would be too harsh! Once the sentiment was stamped, I was able to score a nice straight line to fold it over. It does hang a little bit lower in the back, but I like that because I am planning on writing the "to/from" greeting as well as a label with the directions on how to cook the mug cake.

This particular mug is one that I got from Hobby Lobby a few years ago, but it is the perfect size to hold one of these mixes! I also forgot to mention earlier that one recipe of "mug cake" makes 10 ziplock baggies of mix.So....I have made 10 of these little gifts! My sewing machine has been happily humming along these past few days!

I absolutely love the whip cream image. I discovered a fun little stamping tip for the cream whilst stamping 10 different swirls; ink the edges using Fine Linen Ink. Once you have a good amount of ink of the edges, take your fingertip and swirl it around. I figured this out about 2/3 of the way through, but I love the result! There is also a "cinnamon" sprinkle image as well that I also stamped in Fine Linen ink. I also went one step further and used my color spritzing tool and a brown marker to add some extra cinnamon-y speckles!

I chose 5 different Moda Fabrics so there is 2 of each design. It was fun mixing and matching all of the different designs to add to each mug to coordinate with the fabric! The heart is added to the cream using foam squares as well as the little holly sprig and berries in the corner. This project took a little longer than a card, but I am very pleased that I have 10 gifts ready to give this Christmas. The recipe said that the mix would be good for 6 months in an airtight container, so I pressed the bags closed very well. It was easy to sew a straight line underneath the sentiment as well...unless I filled the bag a little too full! woops! Oh well....I'm human! Ha Ha!

My final project uses the new "Sentiment Staples: Christmas". I wanted something other than a card for this stamp set as well, so when I saw that this set had the "from our home" and the "from my home" sentiment, I KNEW exactly what I wanted to do! Most of you probably have the charming Tiny Town: Basic Die, so this will be a fun project to put together this Christmas. 

I used Soft Stone Bitty Big patterned paper for the houses; one each of the different patterns. I used white for all of the shutters, doors and Scalloped Shingles. The "Merry Christmas" portion of the sentiment is heat embossed in white onto a strip of Pure Poppy Cardstock. The oval piece is the very center of the smallest Pierced Feature Frame: Oval that will be released this month. It is die cut out of Soft Stone cardstock and I used the outer frame for a bonus project at the end of this post.

I stamped the "from our home to yours" portions of the sentiment in Smokey Shadow ink. I added the red sentiment strip in the middle using foam squares. I just love the vintage vibe that this particular font gives the project, especially with the red and aqua color combination! It is one of my favorite color combinations for Christmas!

I used the new "Shape Shifters: Oval 3 die" again on this project as the bases to glue the houses. I wanted the houses to have a little bit more substance and this sweet die cut gives it that extra touch. It also gave me a place to add these mini bottle brush trees. It just really amps up the "cute" factor a few notches, am I right? What is it about women and anything "miniature"? 

I threaded some Pure Poppy 5/8 inch saddle stitched ribbon and some Pure Poppy Swiss Dot 5/8 inch Satin Ribbon through the holes of the handles. I didn't add any extra twine of fussiness so that the recipient can just untie and find the sweet treat or gift inside!

I have a few bonus tags to show you that I made as well. I was having so much fun and I had the extra Soft Stone ovals leftover from the tags I made for the houses, that I figured I may as well. It gave me a good excuse to use all of the different "Merry Christmas" fonts as well.

I threaded them all with some Pure Poppy Baker's Twine. I can't wait to add these to my Chrismtas gifts this year! I know that I shared quite a bit today, but I hope that you enjoyed it and that I have given you some inspiration for your holiday season! Thanks for fluttering by!